Sound Life: Creating Eden
by ImaginAries
Summary: Sequel to "Aftermath"-Knives regresses into hatred for humans and the Trigun cast moves to Little October
1. Reminisce

**A/N**  Look, look, Miss Author Lady is at it again! Oh wait! That's me, isn't it? XD  Yep, it's about time I started posting the sequel to _Aftermath_, oro? Sooo, without too much more ado, I give you chapter one of Sound Life. Ta-da!!

Disclaimers: The Trigun title, characters, and original plotline do not belong to me and I've no affiliation with Pioneer or the creators and producers of the manga or anime series. (Though, wouldn't that be awesome?!).  This fan-fiction is for the reading pleasure of myself and my friends and fans, and I'm making no profit from it (which bites coz I really should be making money instead of wasting my times with fan-fictions, oro?). 

Claimers: ^_^ As before, any references to the New Gung Ho Guns (Shaman, Gemini, Fire Ghost) and characters Artemis Fawn and Lily Rose are owned or co-owned by me and one other person ONLY. ^_^ Thank you, have a nice day!

Sound Life

Chapter One: Reminisce 

          Meryl Stryfe leaned her head against the cool pane of the bus window, not minding that the smallest rifts in the non-existent road caused her to constantly bump against the glass.  Her blue-grey gaze remained blank and distant, staring toward the vast desert.  There lie no sign of any town or establishment for as far as she could see.  Demetri had to be at least fifty iles behind them by now. 

          The ex-insurance woman sighed softly, pressing her forehead to the glass.  Just what did she think she was doing, anyway, leaving that lovely little town?  So much had happened in the past six months, it was making her head cloudy.  

          All that time had passed since the near destruction of Demetri, when the New Gung Ho Guns had stormed the town that night.  Granted that not too much damage had been done, certain aspects still needed to be renovated once more.  The water reserve had cracked due to Midvalley the Horn Freak's rousing saxophone rifts, not to mention some of the buildings were no longer stable. Even though the group was quite shaken up from the skirmish, they vowed to stay behind and help fix everything up. 

          Meryl sighed yet again. After typing up her disaster report to send to Bernardelli, she'd decided it'd be the last one she would ever do.  The raven haired woman sent along with the report a letter of resignation.  Millie had been awfully upset, but within a week had followed suit, saying she wouldn't have wanted any other partner than Meryl and would've hated staying cooped up in the office all day.  The gesture had brought tears that would not fall.  Millie really was a sweetheart.

          The resignation left Meryl and Mille open to new job options, and they had found replacement jobs in no time flat.  The owner of the restaurant was glad to hire them when they both came in to see if he was short on waitresses. He had even doubled the normal salary of six double dollars an hour, gushing to them both about how much they'd already done for the town of Demetri. After he said that he'd given both girls a strange wink and grin.  Meryl suspected he was a dirty old man at heart, but a job was a job.  

          What had surprised the ex-insurance girls, now waitresses, the most, was how long Vash had lingered in town. The Stampede was a wanderer, but perhaps now that he no longer had reason for it, he decided to stick around and finally attempt living out a normal life.  

          For those six months, however, life wasn't all doughnuts and coffee.  While Vash had initially accepted the fact that Legato had pulled such a horrible prank on everyone and that the twisted man was gone for real this time, it began to dawn on him the reality of everything.  The realization of what Vash's brother had gone through, changing from superiority on the way to humble human, had struck a chord in the gunman's heart. Knives underwent a tragedy that none should ever have to go through…he had lost someone he cared for, perhaps more deeply than he ever would have admitted. 

          Vash could sympathize with his brother indefinitely.  The ache in his heart reminded him of the mother, the sister, the best friend he ever had in Rem Saverem.  He had lost her too, and though Knives was behind the woman's untimely demise, Vash knew he had to have hurt somewhere deep inside. 

          Unfortunately, this loss caused Knives Millions to regress into his human-hating shell.  Perhaps it was the guilt within and the irony of the entire situation that made him want to return to his state of superiority, though none could truly say. However, he wasn't nearly as bad as he'd been before. 

          When Knives had finally broken the straw on the camel's back, though, Vash figured it was time for them to move somewhere not so familiar to his brother and not so full of memory. 

          Naturally everyone else insisted on following.  Vash clearly stated that their coming along with he and his brother might only worsen conditions, though honestly he couldn't stop them from going.  The warning had been spoken, and the others followed at their own risk. 

          Meryl sighed again.  She really should have stayed behind.

          "Meryl, you're awfully quiet.  Are you okay?" Millie Thompson's cheery voice spoke laced with worry.

          Without so much as a glance in the girl's direction, Meryl replied.

          "I'm fine, Millie, just…" she trailed off.

          Millie blinked her bright eyes several times.  She had a knack for seeing right through people, even though she was a bit more than just naïve. 

          "There's something on your mind, Meryl, I can tell there is." She smiled to her friend.

          Somehow, Meryl knew just what was coming up, and so remained silent as the big girl went on.

          "Like my middle-big sister always says, you should talk about things that are bothering you because you'll just feel better after doing it."

          Smiling faintly, Meryl shook her head slightly.  She supposed there was never any escape from one of Millie's relative's sayings. 

          "I know.  It's not really something that's bothering me, though, Millie, so try not to…"

          "…Get away from me, Spider!"

          A sharp voice had cut the jobless woman off, coming from near the front of the bus.  Both women turned their gaze ahead.  It'd sounded strangely like Knives. Meryl could only hope, but what she saw shattered those hopes of the voice not belonging to the plant. 

          Nicholas D. Wolfwood stood in the aisle of the bus, one hand on the back of Knives' seat, a perplexed expression upon his face.  

          "Mr. Priest?" Millie called out, just as confused as to what was going on. 

          Meryl could see from the outburst that the other passengers were already getting nervous.  She sighed.  Bounty head or no, trouble just always seemed to follow Vash the Stampede- this was no exception. After all, Knives was Vash's brother. 

          Wolfwood swung his piercing blue eyes upon Millie and shrugged. "He just snapped at me, honey."

          The big girl raised her eyebrows, standing up from her seat and stepped out into the aisle. Meryl quickly pulled her friend back down.  They didn't need to get into the middle of whatever breakdown Knives was having. 

          Knives' face couldn't be seen, though his gaze may have been in the general direction of the priest. He growled. 

          "Leave me."

          "I only wanted to ask if you two were hungry." Wolfwood persisted, reaching into a satchel to relinquish a wrapped sandwich. "The restaurant owner gave me some to bring with us before we left."

          Knives' seat partner turned his spiky blond head toward Wolfwood as well.  Meryl peered over the back of the person's seat in front of her, listening as Vash spoke. 

          "Thank you Wolfwood- Knives, you could afford to be a little bit more gracious; he was trying to be kind and help."

          The priest continued to stand there, sandwich in hand as Knives growled again softly.

          "If I wanted to eat your disgusting human food, I would have asked for it.  Do not offer help where none is needed, spider." Knives snapped at Wolfwood, but took the sandwich nonetheless. "Now…Leave.  Me.  Alone."

          Millie frowned as her priest man returned to his seat, a fire burning within her.  She stood up despite Meryl's order to sit down and stomped over to where Knives and Vash sat. 

          "Mr. Knives!" She squeaked, her high pitched and usually mellow voice had anger mixed into it. "I don't believe you, I just don't believe you!"

          Meryl widened her eyes, standing up to see what was going on better.  The other passengers were still cringing and now the driver appeared annoyed, though just as nervous. 

          The plant with pale blond hair turned his sky blue eyes to the big girl, a frown besetting his sharp features.  There was something unsettling about his gaze, about the way his hair had grown much longer than he would usually have allowed it to, framing his face in waves of soft white-gold. Millie would have thought him an angel if not for his behavior. 

          "What is it now?" 

          Vash leaned forward, looking past his brother to Millie and laughed forcefully, feigning a grin. "Maybe you should go sit down or something before things get worse?"

          Millie stomped her foot. "No, I most certainly will not!" she crossed her arms, bottom lip trembling, eyes shining. "Mr. Knives you lied to us. All this time you told us you changed and you didn't. Mr. Wolfwood didn't do anything wrong to you and you yelled at him for no reason. We're doing the best we can to be your friends but…but you know what? Nobody wants to be friends with someone who's so…_mean_ all the time! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

          Meryl's eyes rounded. "Oh Millie…you idiot." She whispered to herself and slumped back into her seat.

          Vash and Wolfwood gazed at the big girl in shock.  It wasn't like her to blow up at anyone- most of the time she simply tried to talk to them with a smile on her face.  When she yelled at someone and became emotional like this, they knew it was due to something bothering her for a while.

          Knives' harsh gaze remained unaltered, expression hardened. He didn't speak for a few moments- which to everyone else seemed to stretch out for eons. The bus driver spoke up, taking advantage of the silence. 

          "Everyone is still alive back there, right?" 

          The poor guy thought perhaps the heated discussion had halted due to Knives murdering someone. 

          "You should keep your attentions to the road, driver.  This is none of your concern." Knives narrowed his eyes to slits without so much as looking to the very front of the bus.  

          The bus driver did just that, jerking the wheel in time to avoid hitting a boulder in their path. 

          Millie stumbled back from the jarring movement in danger of hitting the floor, but Knives reached an arm out with lightning reflexes. His grip was firm and kept the girl from falling, however there was no amiability in his actions.  He pulled her back beside his seat and sneered.

          "If you think I care whether I have friends or not, spider, you are sadly mistaken.  I need nobody but my brother. You and your…kind, continue to flock together and follow us like pathetic insects, as ants go after their queen.  Continue this," he paused and released her arm to face forward, "and like lemmings you'll stupidly waste your lives."

          Vash sighed, picking up his heavy glass bottle of whiskey and clunked it against his brother's head. Knives slumped forward, pushed back by Vash's arm against his seat, unconscious.

          "Mr. Vash, you didn't have to hit him," Millie blinked.

          "No, I didn't, and you know I don't like violence," Vash replied, sitting back. "But he was really getting on my nerves- and he shouldn't talk to anyone like that. So I thought it might get him to shut up for a while until we get to the next town. You should go sit down now- I'm sure Meryl could use the company."

          Meryl's head jerked up at hearing her name, though soon realized it was only mentioned and she wasn't being called.  

          Millie retreated back to her seat, Wolfwood watching her intensely before moving his gaze to the seat in front of him.  

          The big girl sat down, mumbling about how much she'd really like some pudding and Ceylon Tea before she drifted to a light, snoring slumber. Meryl pressed her forehead back to the glass window and gazed out at the darkness. 

          Why hadn't she just stayed in Demetri?


	2. Little October

**A/N** ^_^ Well, the second chapter is after this little prelude- I don't know why you just don't skip down to it- or maybe you do skip over this and I've written it for absolutely no reason. XD 

Jess Perry- My first comment!! ^_^ Glad you're enjoying it this early on- indeed, Miss Author Lady's mind is a-ticking XD

Irin- :P Don't you bug me too much, or I promise to go reeeeeeeeeaaaally slow on this one…*giggles* Naw- bug me a little- make sure I keep it up, huh?

Magnet-Rose- Glad to hear from you again. I'm still sad about Artemis as well- I got rather attached to her. Poor Knives-y…*glomps him* He'll survive ;)

Disclaimer: The Trigun title, characters, and original plotline do not belong to me and I've no affiliation with Pioneer or the creators and producers of the manga or anime series. (Though, wouldn't that be awesome?!).  This fan-fiction is for the reading pleasure of myself and my friends and fans, and I'm making no profit from it (which bites coz I really should be making money instead of wasting my times with fan-fictions, oro?).

Claimers: ^_^ As before, any references to the New Gung Ho Guns (Shaman, Gemini, Fire Ghost) and characters Artemis Fawn and Lily Rose are owned or co-owned by me and one other person ONLY. ^_^ Thank you, have a nice day!

**Chapter Two**

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**Little October**

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          The rickety, rumbling bus continued down the stretch of sand, filled with now an uneasy batch of passengers due to the recent outbursts by a choice few others.  Those few others remained fairly quiet after the event of the outbursts, but their minds continued to fill with doubtful thoughts. 

          While Meryl still wondered why she and Millie persisted after Vash after all that had come to pass, Millie had in depth thoughts about Ceylon Tea. However, beneath the irrelevancy of tea-time dishes, the big girl couldn't help but think that Knives Million just might become as rude as he ever was unless someone helped him. 

          She sighed softly, glancing out of Meryl's window at the cacti accumulated as the bus passed, and something about the lone green plants struck her as saddening. How strange was it that those prickly floras were among the only living things able to thrive on Gunsmoke? Millie wished with her heart and soul that one day the Eden that Vash and Knives spoke of would come to be. Though…it would likely not happen in her lifetime…

          A few rows up the aisle, Nicholas D. Wolfwood sat casually sprawled in his seat, blue eyes gazing blankly at the back of the passenger's head in front of him. Of course he wasn't really staring at whoever it was- he too felt lost in his own mind's wanderings.  It seemed Meryl, Millie, and Vash weren't the only ones worried about Knives' well being. 

          The priest had actually gotten used to Vash's brother being around, and had thought to have befriended the plant. 

          _'I guess I was wrong.'_ Wolfwood silently spoke, breaking the gaze to turn it upon the still knocked out form of the blond man. _'Did what happen really have that big of an impact on him? Does he blame himself for the destruction of the life he began to work for back in Demetri? It is ironic…isn't it? How…sad…but we've all lost a friend at some point in our lives…'_

          Shaking his head, Wolfwood leaned back to stare at the ceiling. They had all lost a friend- he had lost one that day too, but it didn't cause him to become snappy and evil toward everyone else. Death was a part of life and it would happen to everyone eventually. 

          It would happen to everyone but Vash and Knives…

          …Vash sat oddly still in his seat, a pair of headphones over his ears, eyes shut. He appeared rather peaceful, as though sleeping deeply. He was not asleep, however, only collecting the stray thoughts darting through his head. Worry for his brother settled upon his heart- worry that Knives would never again grow friendly to humans, that his anger would once again evolve into hatred and the want to destroy what he believed was a lesser race. 

          _'Please don't let that happen, Knives…I promised Rem that I would take care of you, and that's what I've been trying to do. You're not making it easy for me, or for anyone. Why do you think I made you leave Demetri? We have to start over again.'_

           Knives never complained once to Vash about leaving the small town. In fact…he hardly said a word about it at all. Although he had helped rebuild Demetri, Knives continued his downward spiral into hurt and anger, inhibition becoming prominent within a few months.  When he yelled at people, Vash was afraid, but the gunman was more afraid when Knives remained quiet. That gave him too much time to brood and stew in whatever devious or angry thoughts he had.  

          While he understood that his brother had regressed most likely because he had lost someone close to him, Vash didn't understand the full reasons behind Knives' sudden animosity toward those he had befriended. 

          _'Couldn't you at least try? Couldn't you be nice to Millie, Meryl, and Wolfwood? I thought they were your friends, Knives…why should what happened change that? What did they have to do with it?'_

Vash was taken aback when Knives' voice echoed quietly in his mind. 

          _'Dear brother, it is not what they had to do with it…it was what they **didn't** have to do with it. Nobody helped her…including me. Just…leave the matter alone, Vash. It's safer for us all.'_

_          'Knives…' _Vash tried to reason with his brother, but all in vain.

          _'Speak of it no more.  Leave me in peace. I've gone along with you, and that should be enough.'_

          Not wanting to really press the matter anymore, Vash sighed heavily and turned his eyes to the window. The bus had been traveling for quite some time now- too much of it had been filled either with uneasy silence or insulting words.  The gunman slumped a bit in his seat, pulling his headphones up to his ears and turned the volume up.  For now he would leave his brother alone, but eventually, Knives would just have to come around…

          *                                               *                                               *

          Quite early the following day, the rumbling bus at last pulled into the town of Little October.  With a good deal of shuffling about and groans from the children on board, everyone managed to exit in a rather disorderly fashion.  

          Once his feet hit the sand, Vash proceeded to yawn and stretch noisily, making a big show out of a simple movement. Meryl crossed her arms, arching a brow in the blonde's direction.

          "Do you have to do it like _that_?" she berated him, obviously cranky.

          Vash halted in mid stretch to see Knives, Millie, and Wolfwood staring at him funnily as well. 

          "Aw, come on, we just got here and you're already giving me grief? It was a long ride; it feels nice to move around!"

          Meryl only groaned in exasperation, tossing up her hands. "Fine, whatever, it's too early to argue."

          Giving the woman the slightest bit of a once over, Knives turned his back on the group and started walking away from them. The remaining four gaped at the pale blond for but a moment before promptly following him. 

          "What do you want?" Knives all but growled at them without so much as looking over his shoulder.

          The four halted in their steps and looked at each other for a second before Vash approached his brother. 

          "Where are you going, Knives?"

          "I thought while you stayed behind to argue, I would go find a place to stay." The reply came rather flatly, Knives' blue eyes scanning the small town. 

          "Gee Meryl, there seems to be an awful lot of people here. Do you think we'll find rooms to stay in?" Millie frowned, putting her forefinger upon her chin. 

          "We'll have to make do with what we find, Millie. Try not to worry about it until we're sure we have nowhere to stay."

          The big girl didn't say anymore, only casting her bright blue-green eyes over the passers-by.  The town looked to be a place where everyone knew each others' business, where nobody went unnamed or unknown by another. It had all the basics of previously visited towns, such as a barber shop, a general store, a small restaurant, a bar, and of course an inn.  What floored the group was the long line formed just outside of the inn.  It practically went around the corner!

          "Well, it doesn't look like we'll be going in _there_ anytime soon. So what do you say, needle-noggin- a round of drinks at the bar until this all clears up?" Wolfwood mused, lighting a cigarette. He hadn't gotten to smoke one at all on the bus- it was shocking that his addiction hadn't overwhelmed him in form of insanity. 

          Meryl gawked. "How on earth can you have a drink _this_ early in the morning? Besides, isn't it Sunday? The bars are closed on Sundays- or at least they are everywhere else. You of all people should know that, Mr. Wolfwood!"

          Vash pouted as he looked to his comrade. "Aw man, I think she's right, preacher man."

          Chortling, Wolfwood took a long drag from his cigarette. "Ah, I guess she is. Breakfast then…we'll have to pass the time somehow, and I don't see much of a crowd by the restaurant. I have to say, though, I don't recall this many people being on the bus with us."

          In agreement, the four began heading for the small restaurant. Knives stood behind, contemplating on whether or not to follow them. He might not enjoy the company of the others, but Vash was his brother. It took quite a while for them to be together once more and idiot or not, Knives would not lose him again. Reluctantly, the pale blond trudged forth, pocketing his hands in the rather comfortable pants he wore.

          If nothing, Knives would admit that humans did at least know a thing or two about comfort.  The suit he'd been so accustomed to wearing was never so lenient for him. 

          As the five reached the restaurant, their eyes were drawn to the painted sign swinging in a light breeze overhead. In red and orange coloring and bold lettering, it read "Autumn Leaves Café". Perhaps it was quite fitting for a town named after the middle month of fall, but Vash thought it was rather ironic, seeing as how nothing but cactus seemed to grow on Gunsmoke.  There were no trees here, and therefore, no leaves. 

          Before entering, something else caught five pairs of eyes, luring them to gaze beyond the top of the restaurant.  Looming at the edge of the city, behind the strip of sandstone buildings, was a sand-steamer. 

          "Ooh, Meryl look! A sand-steamer," Millie cried giddily, pointing at the steel and iron way of transportation. She did all but jump up and down in her excitement. 

          The raven haired shorter woman lowered her friend's arm. "I think we can all see it, Millie." Her blue-grey eyes flickered towards Wolfwood and Vash. "I guess that explains why there're so many people here. I wonder where they came from…"

          The priest shrugged, dropping his cigarette butt to the sand and stomped it out with a worn black leather shoe. "Obviously they didn't come from Demetri.  My guess is somewhere from the north, like February or maybe even Dankin Town."

          Vash glanced to Wolfwood. "Dankin Town- does that place even exist anymore? I thought after my incident there some years ago that they didn't even bother rebuilding it."

          With a dead-pan expression, Knives turned towards his brother. "It's clear you do not keep up with current events, brother. Dankin Town was finally rebuilt last year- it is inhabitable once more. Are we going inside or shall we continue to gawk at this unimpressive contraption?"

          Meryl stared at Knives disdainfully- she truly wished he'd kept the humanity he acquired while first in Demetri.  How strange what death could do to someone, she thought, even if it was the death of someone they hardly even knew.  Meryl couldn't say she'd ever seen that kind of reaction from anyone…except perhaps from Vash. 

          She could suddenly recall the day that the gunman had believed to have taken the life of Legato Bluesummers.  The pain on Vash's face was immeasurable- he had murdered someone, blatantly taking his gun, pointing it to Legato's head, and fired.  The revulsion that Vash must have felt had only been displayed by his screams when he thought nobody could hear him…Meryl remembered sitting outside of his bedroom door, shaking in fear for him and his sanity as he trashed the room and wailed like a madman. 

          "Meryl, are you coming in?" Millie called from the door, concern written on her kindly face. 

          Snapping from the memories, Meryl realized everyone else had gone inside and left her outside. 

          "I'm coming," she replied at last and forced herself to take the few steps forward to enter. 

          The inside of the "Autumn Leaves Café" was nearly as packed as the inn was. People littered each section- finding a place where all five of the travelers could sit together proved to be a bit of a problem. However, after weaving between tables and avoiding bumping into customers, they discovered a lone table set in the back left corner. It would be a tight fit, but it'd have to do.

          After they were seated around the table, with Knives sitting between Vash and Wolfwood as some protection of the women from any physical outburst he may have, a waitress approached. The poor girl appeared to be rather tired. 

          "Have you had a chance to look at the menu yet?" she asked warily. 

          "We don't have menus," Knives spoke with little expression in his tone. 

          The slight young woman pushed a hand through her brown hair. "So you don't. I'm sorry, it's been a long morning, what with the sand-steamer arriving."

          Taking no compassion for her, Knives spoke again. "We don't care for your drivel, woman, just fetch the menus."

          Vash glared at his brother, repulsed at just how cruel he had become once more. "Don't mind him, miss, he's not a morning person. Say- do you know where these people came from?"

          "They're refugees," she spoke, keeping a cautious eye upon Knives. "They came from February…apparently there was some sort of quake that way and they needed a place to go. Aside from Dankin Town, we're the next closest town."

          Meryl frowned. "An earthquake- I don't remember hearing about one."

          "It's only a rumor, ma'am, I can't say if it's true or not." The waitress replied. 

          Wolfwood tilted his chin up, settling his eyes on the young woman. "The inn looks like it'll be pretty filled up. Is there another place you know of where the five of us could stay?"

          The waitress nodded, tapping her chin with a pen. "Yes- just on the outskirts of town, to the East, there's a quaint bed and breakfast called 'The Sun Rose'.  You're the first I've mentioned it to, so I'd suggest eating quickly and heading there before anyone else does."

          Before anyone could reply, the waitress turned and walked away, responding to the chef calling from the kitchen. Vash put his forefinger up, gaping.

          "Hey…our menus..?"

          It would be another half an hour before the girl would remember the small party in the back left corner of "Autumn Leaves Café"…


End file.
